Jackman played one-half of the Dimond tribute band Lightning & Thunder in the new, Craig Brewer-directed film.

Neil Diamond sends Song Sung Blue star Hugh Jackman special gift in reaction to film about tribute band

Jackman played one-half of the Dimond tribute band Lightning & Thunder in the new, Craig Brewer-directed film.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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January 5, 2026 6:19 p.m. ET

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Neil Diamond and Hugh Jackman bonded over 'Song Sung Blue'. Credit:

Hugh Jackman/Instagram

Hugh Jackman was genuinely touched by a gift that Neil Diamond sent him, following his performance as a member of a Diamond tribute act in the new movie *Song Sung Blue*.

It was an autographed guitar from the crooner famous for songs such as "Sweet Caroline," "Cracklin' Rose," "Forever in Blue Jeans," and many more.****"One of the most awesome gifts I've ever received and will cherish forever," Jackman captioned a video of himself opening the present. "Thank you @neildiamond."

The footage, posted Sunday, shows Jackman gasping when he opens it.

"Oh my," Jackman said, as he lifted the instrument out of its case. "That's from Neil Diamond?"

He immediately wrapped his arms around the instrument and pulled it close.

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"Thank you, Neil," the *Deadpool and Wolverine* star said.

He also shared a photo of Diamond holding up his autographed message, which instructed him to "keep rockin'!"

Jackman and costar Kate Hudson portray couple Mike and Claire Sardina, better known as '90s performers Lightning & Thunder, whose shows were tributes to Diamond and other artists.

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Dimond has bonded with both stars, with Jackman previously explaining that he even stayed at Diamond's home one night, where he had an even more surreal experience.

"Neil came out and he came up to me. And he grabbed me, and he goes, 'You did good, kid,'" Jackman recalled of his meeting with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. "But he was emotional about it. And so I stayed the night, and, at dinner time, Neil Diamond — Neil Diamond — goes, 'You want to do some karaoke?' I'm like, 'Hell, yeah.' We did karaoke."

While the movie has been criticized by Mike's son, Diamond himself has been supportive.

'Song Sung Blue' stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.

Courtesy of Focus Features

Brewer explained to ** that he had "a few spies" in the room when Diamond watched *Song Sung Blue*, and his response delighted Brewer.

"I was told from his people that they were surprised to see just how enthusiastic he started to get with it, that he was tapping his foot, that he would applaud after each music number, and that he cried," Brewer said. "He went up to the projectionist, or the person was running the screening, and when they introduced themselves to him, he said, 'Okay, well, when's the next screening? Can we watch it again?' And so I was so happy about his reaction because I hope what it does for him — not that he looks for this or needs it — but I just hope he knows how incredibly relevant his contribution to songwriting is. Those songs are beautiful, and yeah, he's a performer, but he's a writer. He wrote these, he thought them, he felt them in his soul, and then he created them."

*Song Sung Blue* is in theaters now.

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